welcome to kansas!

WE HAVE THE BEST BIRTHMOM EVER!!!!

Our agent (Mary) called today to say that Kelly and Sophie are moving to Topeka! Like...Monday! Kelly wants to do whatever is best for us. She doesn't want us to have to travel to Georgia or pay a Georgia attorney, so she is packing her things and moving to Kansas!! :) We are so thrilled (and even more grateful than we were before. Is that even possible??)

The adoption lawyer in Topeka (Allan Hazlett) called me shortly after I got off the phone with Mary and he went through every single one of my questions so I knew what to expect. He was wonderfully patient and kind. He even called out to Peggy in the next room if he wasn't positive about the answer. Peggy is his wife. They run this business together. They've been doing adoption law for 15 years. It's just the two of them. No big staff. And they take care of everything. They will book Kelly's flight, pick her up from the airport and get her all settled in. They will take her to the grocery store once a week and to all of her doctor's appointments. They will set her up with a nurse/midwife through the doctor's office and make sure she's getting any counseling/support she needs. Alan and Peggy spend A LOT of time with the birthmoms and they make sure these women don't feel lonesome or displaced. And they intentionally surround the birthmoms with people who support and understand their adoption plan (in fact, the manager of the grocery store is one of their former birthmoms).

I asked what we can do - how can we make Kelly feel welcome and comfortable. Allan encouraged us to develop a relationship with her. He said, "the very best situations happen when you two become friends. You can start driving her to doctor's appointments and call to see how she's doing. Of course you don't want to overwhelm her, but follow your instincts. Put yourself in her shoes." She's going to be there for 3 months. Maybe we could take her to a Royals game?? (she mentioned she likes sports!) And maybe we'll set her up with NetFlix or bring her dinner once a month?? Something that tells her, "we appreciate what you are doing and we know it's not easy."

I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I have no idea how the rest of this journey is going to go, but right now - I FEEL INCREDIBLY LUCKY! Not only is Kelly giving us an amazing gift, but she is now sacrificing the only life she's ever known. She lost both of her parents when she was young. The only people around her right now are smug and unsupportive. I almost want to be there when she steps off the airplane so I can give her a ginormous hug. WELCOME TO KANSAS!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!